A Narrative Approach to AI Ethics Education in Elementary School

This study analyzes five AI ethics teaching and learning materials for elementary students developed by public institutions, and proposes a narrative- centered approach to elementary AI ethics education. The analysis draws on the three interconnected components of the 2022 revised moral education curriculum: moral inquiry, self-reflection, and everyday practice. The findings show that existing materials lower barriers to entry through play- and activity-based approaches, yet share a common limitation: while they establish a starting point for moral inquiry, the connection to self-reflection and everyday practice remains weak, and their reliance on macro- level cases tends to leave students as observers of ethical conflicts. Accordingly, this study focuses on a narrative-centered approach that helps students vicariously experience AI ethical situations through stories and reflect on them in light of their own lives. Based on this, it develops a three-session lesson plan set in a fictional ‘Robot City,’ aligned with the moral education achievement standard for the fifth and sixth grades. This study is significant in applying the narrative-centered approach, long validated in moral ed